The Elder Scrolls VI
Developer(s)Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher(s)Bethesda Softworks
Producer(s)Todd Howard
SeriesThe Elder Scrolls
EngineCreation Engine 2
Platform(s)
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The Elder Scrolls VI (working title) is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It will be the sixth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 2011's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The game is scheduled to be released for Windows and Xbox consoles.

The project is led by game director Todd Howard, reprising his duties from previous games in the series, as well as other games developed by Bethesda Game Studios. The Elder Scrolls VI will be the second game developed on the studio's in-house engine, Creation Engine 2, following Starfield (2023). The game entered pre-production by 2018, formally being announced during Bethesda's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 conference. The game entered active production in 2023 following Starfield's completion and launch.

Development

Background

In June 2016, Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, confirmed the developer's intent to make a new entry in The Elder Scrolls series, describing the game's status as "kind of the elephant in the room", while asserting that "It's good to tell our fans in these moments, yes, of course we are [making The Elder Scrolls VI]." He cautioned expectations in regards to the game's progress by warning that it was a ways off and would take a lot of time to complete before its eventual launch.[1]

This release plan was reiterated in October 2018 by ZeniMax Online Studios producer Matt Firor likened the release timeline of The Elder Scrolls VI in relation to Starfield and prior games developed by Bethesda Game Studios, stating "You can go back and count the years between Bethesda Game Studios releases, and you'll get the idea that [The Elder Scrolls VI is] not coming anytime soon". He additionally put forth the prospect that the games industry would be in a new generation of gaming hardware by the game's release.[2] The Elder Scrolls VI's release status was again clarified in May 2020, when Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & Communications at Bethesda Softworks, Pete Hines, responded to a user on Twitter regarding when more information about the game would be released. Hines responded, "It's after Starfield, which you pretty much know nothing about. So if you're coming at me for details now and not years from now, I'm failing to properly manage your expectations".[3]

In March 2019, through a promotional video commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda announced that YouTuber Shirley Curry, otherwise known online as the "Skyrim Grandma", would be featured in The Elder Scrolls VI as a non-player character (NPC), depicted through motion capture photography.[4] Curry's inclusion in the game came about following a fan petition initiated on Change.org in order to "immortalize" her in the game following a comment she made, expressing regret towards not being able to play the game by its release due to her age. Bethesda Game Studios similarly included a cameo appearance from another major figure in The Elder Scrolls fan community in one of their games, cancer victim Erik "Immok the Slayer" West, who appeared as the NPC "Erik the Slayer" in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), which inspired the fan movement advocating for Curry's addition to the game.[5] The video detailed plans for the game to utilize photogrammetry technology in order to capture real-world landscapes and typography and use them to depict the scale of the game's world, citing a need to "push our future tech for games to levels we have not done before".[6]

When the acquisition of ZeniMax Media by Microsoft completed in March 2021, Bethesda Softworks' various development studios, including Bethesda Game Studios, became part of Microsoft's internal Xbox Game Studios.[7] Xbox CEO Phil Spencer clarified the status of Bethesda's relationship with Xbox going forward, remarking that while they would honor existing contractual obligations as well as continue to support ongoing titles on other platforms, the majority of future titles from the publisher would ship solely on "platforms where Xbox Game Pass exists", and that the potential for benefitting Xbox customers with exclusive content was the primary motivator for the two parties forming a partnership.[8]

In a 2021 interview, Todd Howard confirmed that it was in the design phase, and that the game's technology would build off of the groundwork established by Starfield, which is the first game from Bethesda Game Studios to be powered by their proprietary engine Creation Engine 2.[9] Howard anticipated that the game would "arrive some fifteen to seventeen years after Skyrim".[10]

Production

In August 2023, Todd Howard described his intent behind The Elder Scrolls VI as wanting to make "the ultimate fantasy-world simulator", and that there were many directions to take with that goal due to the time passed since Skyrim's release.[11] The game entered active production later that month following the completion of Starfield's development.[12][13][14]

Release

The game was formally announced during Bethesda's conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 event on June 10 that year, where Todd Howard presented a short teaser trailer, and revealed that the project had started pre-production, with its launch scheduled to follow the releases of the studio's imminent games in development, Fallout 76 (2018) and Starfield (2023).[15][16]

In September 2020, Microsoft entered an agreement to acquire Bethesda Softworks' parent company, ZeniMax Media for US$7.5 billion, thereby receiving ownership of Bethesda's various development teams, including Bethesda Game Studios, as part of Xbox Game Studios.[17] The game's exclusivity to Windows and Xbox consoles has since been repeatedly confirmed. Upon the completion of the ZeniMax acquisition, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer stated that making future Bethesda games exclusive to their platforms was done to signify his commitment to bringing "the full complete package of what we have", a sentiment he shared for other franchises under the Xbox umbrella; he also said that the game will launch after the upcoming Fable game from Playground Games.[18][19] Prior to Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the game was initially targeting a launch date during the 2024 fiscal year period.[20]

In June 2023, Phil Spencer provided an update on the game's release timing at a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearing concerning Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, stating that the title was still estimated to be "five plus years away" from launch, and that any target platforms were undecided at that particular stage.[21] Leaked internal documents submitted to the FTC from the trial period reconfirmed the game's exclusivity to Xbox and PC, while also revealing the game was anticipated to launch in 2026 at the earliest.[22][23][Note 1]

Notes

  1. ^ Due to the prolonged release, IGN said in 2023 that "According to the leak, this mysterious next generation of Xbox is tentatively planned to hit shelves in 2028. With The Elder Scrolls 6 said to be at least five years away, there’s a good chance Bethesda will launch the sequel on this new Xbox platform."

References

  1. ^ Andy Chalk published (June 14, 2016). "The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development, Todd Howard confirms". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Elder Scrolls 6 Is A Long Way Off, Might Not Launch Until Next Generation Of Consoles". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Square, Push (May 11, 2020). "The Elder Scrolls 6 News and Details Are Still Years Away". Push Square. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  4. ^ Christopher Livingston (March 29, 2019). "Skyrim Grandma Shirley Curry will be in The Elder Scrolls 6". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Santangelo, Nick (November 26, 2018). "Fans Petition to Immortalize Skyrim-Playing Grandma in Elder Scrolls 6". IGN. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Elder Scrolls 6 May Feature "Skyrim Grandma," See New Video Here". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Officially Welcoming Bethesda to Team Xbox". Xbox Wire. March 9, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "Xbox chief says the Bethesda deal will deliver 'great exclusive games'". Engadget. September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Strickland, Derek (June 30, 2023). "Starfield's new Creation Engine took 'so long to do,' Bethesda's Todd Howard happy with results". TweakTown. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Orland, Kyle (November 16, 2021). "Sorry PlayStation owners, Elder Scrolls VI will be an Xbox/PC exclusive". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Lyles, Taylor (August 24, 2023). "In Hindsight, Todd Howard Probably Would Have Announced Elder Scrolls 6 'More Casually'". IGN. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (August 30, 2023). "The Elder Scrolls 6 Officially in Early Development, but Don't Expect to Hear About It Soon". IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  13. ^ Andy Chalk (August 30, 2023). "The Elder Scrolls 6 is out of 'pre-production' but Pete Hines says it will be 'years' before we start hearing about it". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  14. ^ "Pete Hines de Bethesda nos descubre todas las claves de Starfield". Vandal (in European Spanish). August 29, 2023. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  15. ^ Studios, Bethesda Game. "The Future of Bethesda Game Studios". bethesda.net. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "Elder Scrolls 6 is in 'pre-production', while Starfield is in a playable state". VG247. June 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  17. ^ "Microsoft to Buy Bethesda for $7.5 Billion to Boost Xbox". Bloomberg.com. September 21, 2020. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  18. ^ "How Xbox outgrew the console: inside Phil Spencer's multi-billion dollar gamble". British GQ. November 15, 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Peters, Jay (November 15, 2021). "Phil Spencer basically confirms The Elder Scrolls VI is an Xbox exclusive". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  20. ^ Peters, Jay (September 19, 2023). "Microsoft documents leak new Bethesda games, including an Oblivion remaster". The Verge. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  21. ^ Plant, Logan (June 23, 2023). "The Elder Scrolls 6 Still 'Five+ Years Away', PlayStation Version Undecided". IGN. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Mollie Taylor (September 19, 2023). "The Elder Scrolls 6 is at least 3 years away, probably more, and there's bad news for PlayStation fans". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Williams, Callum. The Elder Scrolls 6: Potential Release Year, Rumors, and Latest News. Retrieved on 30 Oct. 2023
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